Nightjar becoming «common» and some terns

Male Nightjar (nattravn)

The Nightjar pair I mentioned in my previous post were not to be seen at the same site again although I did have a pair nearby and believe they were moving around and prospecting for a nest site although it is rather late in the season now. Nightjars proved to be rather common in the area with at least 4 territories along a 1.5km stretch which is in start contrast to up until 5 years ago when I had none on my nocturnal trips from the cabin and it is only 2 years ago that I first recorded a bird along this particular stretch. This is a species which along with Great Grey Owl seems to directly benefit for the surge in forestry work this last decade or so.

I have engaged in some sea gazing whilst having my morning coffee and usually saw nothing but yesterday two Sandwich Terns went south - this will presumably now become a species I bump into «all» the time after having waited 24 years for my first in Norway - and today a Caspian Tern went north😊. Apart from these three quality terns I only had 3 Common Terns in total during the week so definitely a case of quality over quantity.

Sea gazing from the cabin is a very comfortable affair but the area of sea that can be viewed is very narrow however I am building up a good list of birds now with these two scarce terns adding to Pomarine Skua, White-billed Diver and Surf Scoter.

Butterflies have again taken up more time than birds although I have also read a book and gone for walks and spent time with my family☺️. After a couple of days with rain it was sunny on Wednesday and it was noticeable that new species were emerging for the first time with especially Ringlet (gullringvinge) appearing in the area for the first time this trip and being numerous overnight.

Sea gazing with coffee, OJ, The Beast and a minute before 2 Sandwich Terns (splitterne) which I did not manage any photos of.

The Caspian Tern (rovterne) did however allow itself to be recorded for prosperity

A Linnet (tornirisk) flying out of this conifer by the cabin had me suspecting a nest

And sure enough there was one. The parents were very secretive when visiting the nest although the male would be perched nearby singing when the female entered with food

Summer holidays 2025

Summer holidays have begun and per tradition our first week is at a cabin south of Oslo near Hulvik. Butterflies are in short supply so far except for Queen of Spain Fritillaries (sølvkåpe) which are by far the most numerous species and in numbers I have never seen before.

Evening drives with Jr have become another tradition and our first one gave a good haul with 4 Moose including a mother and tiny calf, 3 Roe Deer, 2 Badgers and 3 unidentified small bats. I started with animals as that is Jr’s priority but on the bird front we had 2 Corncrake, 2 Quail, 5 Nightjar, 3 Tawny Owls, 2 Long-eared Owls, 3 Marsh Warblers and quite a few Woodcocks.

The best experience came as we were nearly back at the cabin when we found a pair of Nightjar seemingly nesting. It was as dark as it gets by then but I will spend more time with them and hopefully with the use of the thermal imager get an insight into their secretive lives.

Red-backed Shrikes are scare this year with just 2 males seen one of which was singing so unpaired but the other probably had a female on the nest.

This is the only picture I took of a Nightjar (nattravn) with the superzoom at 00:10. I should probably have taken some more but was concentrating on video

Male Red-backed Shrikes are scare (tornskate)

The last week in Oslo

Before I bore most of you with a butterfly post it is about time with another catch up of local Oslo birding.

Hobbies are back in Maridalen and have clearly chosen a new but yet to be discovered nest. I have seen a single Honey Buzzard over Maridalen and the nest of the last two years has had green branches added to it although no birds are on the nest yet.

The last Lapwing nest in Maridalen is now empty and I think that the young have hatched due to the behaviour of the parents but the crop is now too high to see. One evening whilst the nest was still occupied a fox with Lapwing young on its mind walked through the field. I have a long video of the event and the adults were very effective at attacking the fox and also calling their young away.

The four Little Ringed Plover eggs have hatched and the parents are doing a great job keeping them alive. They deserve a separate post though as there is a lot to see with them.

Nocturnal singers are slowly increasing with at least 4 Marsh Warblers in Maridalen and a Nightjar in an unexpected location that showed very well.

Arctic Terns remain on the lake including the 3cy bird with the missing tail feather and it is fun watching them on every visit to the lake.

A video of the Nightjar (nattravn) to start with

adult Lapwings (vipe)trying to chase off a fox whose back is just visible amongst the buttercups

j

this young Lapwing is nearly fully grown and was flapping its wings

my only Oslo Honey Buzzard (vepsevåk) so far this year

this pair with the male on the left were in Østfold

the Honey Buzzard nest from the last two years with fresh spruce branches added

Arctic Tern (rødnebbterne) with a mayfly in its sights

and about to be caught

Hobby (lerkefalk)

spot the Red-backed Shrike (tornskate). There has still not been any major arrival and I have not located any breeding pairs yes

A Blue Tit (blåmeis) nest jut above ground level

when a Chiffchaff (gransanger) flew up from by my feet I knew there must be a nest nearby and here it was

with a few young in it

Same procedure as last year, same procedure as every year

The first week of school summer holdiays is, as always, being spent at the cabin we are so lucky to be able to use near Hulvik. No seawatching to mention and few birds although the now to be expected close encounters with Nightjars were as good as ever.

Nightjar (nattravn). Definitely one of my better efforts and taken before sunset although we were in shade at 22:34

It is bugs that are my main interest here and a 30 minute drive brought me a new dragonfly species with a single male Club-tailed Dragonfly (klubbeelvelibelle) showing along a muddy slow moving river (a habitat that is very unusual in Norway).

My first club-tailed Dragonfly (klubbeelvelibelle)

I also added a new species of butterfly to my list but didn’t realise at the time and that despite it being one of the largest and most spectacular species there is. I was walking my usual butterfly route here and only 50 meters from the car saw what I thought was a Poplar Admiral (ospesommerfugl). I can still count my encounters with this species on one hand so quickly raised my camera only to find the battery was flat. I went to my pocket for my mobile only to realise I’d left it in the car…. I jogged back to the car to remember that I had not bought the bag with a spare battery but I did have the superzoom in the car (where it always resides). Taking this (and my phone) and jogging back - who would have thought butterfly watching would be good exercise - I found the butterfly again a bit further along the path where it was sucking up some sort of sustenance. I was most interest in taking video of it but did note some markings that I didn’t remember from before and was also a bit puzzled by how blue the upperwing looked at some angles… It was only when I got home though that I looked at some images and realised I had in fact been watching a Purple Emporer (stor purpurkåpe). This is a species that was first seen in Norway as recently as 2019 and which has been recorded under 50 times since.

A bit embarassing that I did not recognise it there and then and I realise now that I thought it was a much larger species than it actually is.

Purple Emperor (stor purpurkåpe)

Look at that blue colour

And then a slight change of angle and it just looks black

This is one of those posts done on my iphone blog posts that I am sure will come out looking rather strange with different font sizes but with luck I’ll post something better later once I’m home.

Nightjar in the Dale!

A lot has happened since my last post. Firstly, the weather forecast for Friday became mouth wateringly good with rain starting at dawn and continuing through the day and I was now thinking I was going to decamp to Gressholmen and experience an Oslo wader fest the likes of which haven’t even been dreamed of. But then the next time I looked the forecast had changed to only a slight chance of rain so we will have to wait and see.

Secondly, and most importantly, I spur of the moment decided to listen for any nocturnal activity in Maridalen yesterday and was royally rewarded with not one but two Nightjars, Oslo #174. This was a new Dale species for me, #208, and comes after the first record last year which seemed to only be a one night bird and which I could not find the following night. With all the forestry work over the last few years which has created far more open forest and clearings it felt like only a matter of time before the species colonised. I heard a very distant bird at 23:10 and couldn’t work out exactly where it was and attempts to get closer did not reveal it again. But at 23:50 in a different area I had another bird which churred and flew over me and even allowed itself to be photographed 😊

Unfortunately, as I was not expecting this encounter I did not have the camera settings right but hopefully I will be offered another chance and will be better prepared. Other than the Jars I could only muster up 3 Woodcock. It is still very early in the season but a good showing of night singers in Oslo will be vital if I am to break my record.

Nightjar (nattravn). Not too shabby a picture for 23:56 and handheld using a headtorch

I saw it first in flight

before it landed

most of my shots were "arty" like this

Nightjars anno 2023

We are following a much liked and well trodden path and spending the first week of the (school) summer holiday at the cabin at Hulvik south of Oslo. I’ve done a bit of butterflying without seeing anything too exciting and the only birding has been a couple of nocturnal trips. We have been coming here almost annually for around 15 years and I have engaged in nocturnal trips for at least 10. Nightjars were always a species I was listening for but it was only 2 years ago that I discovered them here for the first time. Last year we also had them so I was of course expecting to find them again this year and as always I was hoping to see them before it gets too dark although that never happens as I hope.

The reason for the sudden appearance of Nightjars in the area must be because of extensive recent forestry work clearing away large areas of planted spruce and revealing more natural scattered pine trees on sandy soil which is a great habitat for Nightjars. Hotter, drier summers are probably also helping the species in Norway which is right on the northern edge of the species range.

This year my first trip with Jr on Sunday evening started off disappointingly with only a distant singing bird when we checked the area from the last two years. Finishing our trip though and not too far from the cabin we saw a female hunting along the road and stopping heard a male churrring nearby. We then had good views of the male wing clapping over us although by this time it was gone midnight and rather dark (or at least as dark as it gets in mid summer here).

Monday night it poured down with rain but I was ready to go on Tuesday night at 10pm. I was hoping that the poor conditions the previous night may have left them hungry and would increase the chance of early activity. For once I was right with a bird hesitantly churring already at 22:15 and before sunset! I managed to get my best pictures to date of the species (helped in no small part to the fact that Conor C has very kindly lent me his Canon 5D IV). I was aware that there could be a nest on the ground in the area and scanned with the thermal imager to see if I could locate the female. I didn’t but suddenly I saw an animal and there was badger walking right towards me! Unfortunately it sensed me as I raised my camera but seeing it walking along sniffing the ground highlighted the threats that ground nesting birds expose themselves to. Of course if we didn’t remove all of the apex predators (wolves and lynx) then there would be fewer badgers and foxes and more balance in nature but humans aren’t good at natural balance.

I was a happy man as I headed back to the cabin at 11pm (very early by nocturnal birding standards) but things then got even better. Getting out of the car there were juvenile Tawny Owls begging for food right by the cabin. There were 3 and their begging just got louder and louder during the course of the next hour when they didn’t seem to be fed at all. But that was not the best of it - a Nightjar flew over and then one started churring nearby!! Plus Woodcock and barking Roe Deer (which set the Beast off) and I now realise that tonight I can do my nocturnal birding from the cabin veranda with a glass of wine in hand #glambirding

First the video with Nightjars wing clapping and calling (courtesy of Jr) and churring and then the sights and sounds around the cabin with begging Tawny Owls, barking Roe Deer and Beast, flyover Nightjar (courtesy of Mrs. OB) and moonlight on the water.

Nightjar (nattravn) in silhouette

the light was still good at 22:40  (the sun was still hitting the top of the trees) and these are without doubt my best views of this enigmtic species 

Nightjar flying over cabin

Badger (grevling) after seeing me and turning away

Juvenile Tawny Owl (kattugle) at 23:50 using ISO 12800

High Brown Fritillary (adippeperlemorvinge)

A White-letter Hairstreak (almestjertvinge) from Oslo just before we left. It seems to be a very good and very early year for this species

Male Linnet (tornirisk) with a tick

Heath Fritillary (Marimjellerutevinge) which are very numerous this year

Summer holiday episode 1- Nightjars

Nightjar (nattravn)

As usual our summer holiday has started with a few days at the cabin we are so lucky to be able to borrow just south of Oslo. I would normally be butterflying here and commenting on the large number of species I have seen but this year despite it being sunny there have been very few species (in stark contrast to Oslo). In fact I have only seen 11 species plus a couple of interesting moths. I have no good reason for the lack of butterflies but hopefully it is just timing.

The only specific birding I have done is to look for the Nightjars we found last year. They have moved 500m from last year but er had 4 birds flying together that very memorably flew right over our heads. Activity started very late (23:25) so my plans of great photos will have to wait for another occasion.

This video is taken with the tripod mounted bazooka

This video was taken by Jr on her phone

Habitat shot at 22:48